Volkening was an apprentice with Andreas Streicher in Vienna. As a young instrument maker in Bielefeld, Volkening presented his grand pianos and uprights at the General German Trade Exhibition in Berlin in , [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] where he exhibited an upright and a grand piano with Streicher's patent mechanics, [ 8 ] and at the first industrial exhibition of all peoples in London in The following year Volkening received the bronze medal at the "Gewerbeproducenten" exhibition in Berlin.
Around Volkening made a mahogany veneered grand piano on vase-like legs and with maple inlaid jewelry, which was played by Franz Liszt on his concert tour in A personal inscription of Liszt testifies to this concert on the instrument: "Bielefeld - concert on November 13 F.
After own statement of the later factory Th. Theophil Mann was born the son of a master ropemaker in Hildesheim. Following his schooldays, he completed a carpentry apprenticeship before gaining an insight into piano construction in the workshop of the court instrument maker J.
Weykopf in Hanover from onwards. After a short period, he returned to Hildesheim and worked with organ builder Heinrich Schaper. In C. Volkening called him to Bielefeld. Mann studied the piano construction industry from the ground up. Mann, Bielefeld" pianoforte factory. In the new building at Oberntorwall 29 in Bielefeld was completed and the factory moved out of the building Kreuzstrasse Like Volkening before, Th.
Mann sent exhibits to numerous industrial exhibitions in Germany and abroad. For the year , it is noted in the catalog of the Vienna World Fair in that Th. Mann employed 20 workers and produced instruments that year, the sale of which made a revenue 24, Thaler.
